Parkinson’s disease, or paralysis agitans,is a progressing neurologic movement disorder that eventually leads to disability. It occurs after the age of 50 and increases in incidence with age. The disease affects more men than women and it’s the fourth most common neurodegenerative disease, with 50,000 new cases reported each year in the United States.
Parkinson’s disease is associated with decreased levels of dopamine resulting from destruction of pigmented neuronal cells in the substantia nigra in the basal ganglia region of the brain. Neuronal pathways project from the substantia nigra to the corpus striatum, where neurotransmitters are key to the control of complex body movements. The loss of dopamine stores in areas of the brain results in more excitatory neurotransmitters than inhibitory neurotransmitters, leading to an imbalance that affects voluntary movement.
Nursing Care Plans
The nursing goals for patients with Parkinson’s Disease include improving functional mobility, maintaining independence in performing ADLs, achieving optimal bowel elimination, attaining and maintaining acceptable nutritional status, achieving effective communication, and developing positive coping mechanisms.
Here are nine (9) nursing care plans (NCP) and nursing diagnosis for Parkinson’s Disease:
- Ineffective Airway Clearance
- Disturbed Thought Process
- Impaired Verbal Communication
- Impaired Physical Mobility
- Imbalanced Nutrition: Less Than Body Requirements
- Impaired Swallowing
- Risk for Injury
- Ineffective Coping
- Deficient Knowledge
- Other Nursing Care Plans
Risk for Injury
Nursing Diagnosis
- Risk for Injury
May be related to
- Parkinson’s disease
- dementia
- lack of awareness of environmental hazards
- poor judgement
- medications
- hallucinations
- choking
- bradykinesia
- akinesia
Risk factors
- confusion
- disorientation
- malnutrition
- altered mobility
- skin breakdown
- agitation
- physical discomfort
- choking
- wounds
- falls
- wandering
- involuntary movements
- loss of postural adjustment
- loss of balance
- loss of arm swinging movement
- difficulty initiating movement
- shuffling gait
- slowness of movement
- orthostatic hypotension
- activity intolerance
- polypharmacy
- hallucinations
- tremors
- muscle rigidity
Desired Outcomes
- Patient will remain safe from environmental hazards resulting from cognitive impairment.
- Family will ensure safety precautions are instituted and followed.
- Patient will remain in a safe environment with no complications or injuries obtained.
- Family will be able to identify and eliminate hazards in the patient’s environment.
| Nursing Interventions | Rationale |
|---|---|
| Assess ambulation and movement. | Aids in planning of interventions. |
| Instruct patient to swing arms and lift heels during ambulation. | These actions assist gait and prevent falls. |
| Teach patient to turn in wide arcs. | To prevent the crossing of one leg over the other, which could cause a fall. |
| Remind patient to maintain an upright posture and look up when walking. | Stooped posture may cause the patient to collide with objects. |
| Instruct a wide-based gait | To improve balance. |
| Teach range of motion exercises and stretching to be performed daily. | Exercising increases flexibility and improves strength and balance. |
Recommended Resources
Recommended nursing diagnosis and nursing care plan books and resources.
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- Nursing Care Plans: Nursing Diagnosis and Intervention (10th Edition)
An awesome book to help you create and customize effective nursing care plans. We highly recommend this book for its completeness and ease of use. - Nurse’s Pocket Guide: Diagnoses, Prioritized Interventions and Rationales
A quick-reference tool to easily select the appropriate nursing diagnosis to plan your patient’s care effectively. - NANDA International Nursing Diagnoses: Definitions & Classification, 2021-2023Â (12th Edition)
The official and definitive guide to nursing diagnoses as reviewed and approved by the NANDA-I. This book focuses on the nursing diagnostic labels, their defining characteristics, and risk factors – this does not include nursing interventions and rationales. - Nursing Diagnosis Handbook, 12th Edition Revised Reprint with 2021-2023 NANDA-I® Updates
Another great nursing care plan resource that is updated to include the recent NANDA-I updates. - Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5(TM))
Useful for creating nursing care plans related to mental health and psychiatric nursing. - Ulrich & Canale’s Nursing Care Planning Guides, 8th Edition
Claims to have the most in-depth care plans of any nursing care planning book. Includes 31 detailed nursing diagnosis care plans and 63 disease/disorder care plans. - Maternal Newborn Nursing Care Plans (3rd Edition)
If you’re looking for specific care plans related to maternal and newborn nursing care, this book is for you. - Nursing Diagnosis Manual: Planning, Individualizing, and Documenting Client Care (7th Edition)
An easy-to-use nursing care plan book that is updated with the latest diagnosis from NANDA-I 2021-2023. - All-in-One Nursing Care Planning Resource: Medical-Surgical, Pediatric, Maternity, and Psychiatric-Mental Health (5th Edition)
Definitely an all-in-one resources for nursing care planning. It has over 100 care plans for different nursing topics.
See also
Other recommended site resources for this nursing care plan:
- Nursing Care Plans (NCP): Ultimate Guide and Database
Over 150+ nursing care plans for different diseases and conditions. Includes our easy-to-follow guide on how to create nursing care plans from scratch. - Nursing Diagnosis Guide and List: All You Need to Know to Master Diagnosing
Our comprehensive guide on how to create and write diagnostic labels. Includes detailed nursing care plan guides for common nursing diagnostic labels.
Other nursing care plans related to neurological disorders:
- Alzheimer’s Disease | 15Â Care Plans
- Brain Tumor | 3 Care Plans
- Cerebral Palsy | 7 Care Plans
- Cerebrovascular Accident | 12 Care Plans
- Guillain-Barre Syndrome | 6 Care Plans
- Meningitis | 7 Care Plans
- Multiple Sclerosis | 9 Care Plans
- Parkinson’s Disease | 9 Care Plans
- Seizure Disorder | 4 Care Plans
- Spinal Cord Injury | 12 Care Plans
Awesome stuff.
Feel like I have found a gold mine !! Very helpful.
Very nice and helpful
This website has helped me so much with nursing interventions and now is helping me come up with interventions and understanding why because of the rationale
Would be Important to add references. Apart from that is very good.